Tag Archives: Canary’s Cry
Perfume, poisoning, and green spaces
Posted on Oct 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Linda Sepp, Media/Videos, News
Canary’s Cry.
Post by Linda Sepp.
Green and Save reports on Perfume and Colognes: Dangerously Chemical.
CTV News reports that getting the recommended treatment for severe carbon-monoxide poisoning depends on where you live in Canada and who your doctor is.
CBC News reports green spaces boost the body and the mind.
Reuters reports polluted air may give you a headache.
Building Green reports on an EPA warning: Older buildings may harbor PCBs.
The Canadian Center for Occupational Safety reports a webinar will be held on ototoxic industrial chemicals and potentially harmful exposure. Dr. Thais Morata of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will discusses the effects of chemical agents, the interaction between these agents and noise, and strategies for preventing work-related hearing loss.
The Star reports Web surfing boosts brain circuitry in older adults.
King’s College London reports on research showing pesticides exposure is linked to suicidal thoughts. Full article here.
The Wall Street Journal reports a bill backed by industry and environmental groups would set federal limits on a potentially dangerous chemical inside your home: formaldehyde.
Best selling author Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book out, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. I just saw her talking about it on the Daily Show and she was brilliant. She said there’s an empathy deficit (no kidding). She also said, “I never think delusion is ok.” YAY for speaking up!
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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The health and ability for those with environmental sensitivities rests with the choices and actions of others. For more information, see The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities.
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Mosquitoes, vets, and pesticides
Posted on Jul 01, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, News
Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?
Lake County News, Chicago, reports on mosquito spraying this Sunday, saying that people with chemical sensitivities “may want to keep their windows and doors closed during spraying.” Oh yeah, thanks, that’s gonna help.
In a related story, WAFF48 News reports foggers spray for the pests in and around neighborhoods but some fear those chemicals could be endangering water supplies. And what about the people and other living things?
WBOY reports Iraq war veteran Ronald Mayle, Jr. was a member of the 1092nd Engineering Battalion who came into contact with sodium dichromate, a anti-corrosive agent. Today, Mayle has health complications including chemical sensitivity, respiratory problems, and throat cysts.
The Dickinson State University Foundation communication director reports in The Dickinson Press that his exposure to pesticides when he sprayed crops during his high school and college years resulted in his being so chemically sensitive that “I can tell you what perfume a woman on the opposite side of the Mall of America is wearing, and cleaning a bathtub with your average powdered cleaner crumbles me like kryptonite does Superman.”
Rebecca Artman of PANDORA reports at Pro Health that a bill to fund a Neuroendocrine Immune Disorder Center of Excellence in New Jersey is approved by Assembly, and now goes before the NJ House. The research center would be dedicated to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalopathy, fibromyalgia, Gulf War Illness, Lyme disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and other environmental illnesses. PANDORA is the non-profit Patient Alliance for Neuroendocrineimmune Disorders Organization for Research and Advocacy based in Coral Gables, Florida. Link to full text of the NJ resolution.
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Parkinson’s, chemicals, and polluted waterways
Posted on Apr 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, News
Canary’s Cry for Sunday, April 19
The Los Angeles Times reports Parkinson’s is partially linked to pesticides.
The Washington Post reports endocrine disruptors pollute the Potomac.
Related: PBS reports airing of “Poisoned Waters” on Frontline, Tuesday, April 21 at 9:00 p.m. Frontline examines the newest health hazards in nation’s contaminated waterways: chemicals in consumers’ face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains, and eventually into America’s waterways and drinking water.
Chicago Tribune reports on poison in the well: Crestwood officials cut corners and supplied residents with tainted water for two decades.
AP reports a large chemical spill early Saturday at an east-central Ohio plant spawned a massive vapor cloud that took hours to dissipate.
The Connecticut Post reports the state is moving closer to banning bisphenol-A, or BPA, a chemical commonly used to harden plastic and make it shatterproof, and to line the insides of certain food containers. It’s often found in baby bottles. Reacting to scientific concerns about abnormalities and cancers thought to be caused by BPA, officials in Canada last year banned the use of the substance in baby products; the declaration became official this past weekend. Other entities in this country are following suit, with Suffolk County, N.Y., becoming the first government in the nation to enact a ban.
In Canada, The Star reports Premier Dalton McGuinty has broken another election campaign promise, this time to reduce the amount of poisonous chemicals industries put into the environment.
SF Gate reports activist crusades against toxic waste in Russia.
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Paint, pesticides, and formaldehyde
Posted on Apr 17, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, News
Canary’s Cry for Friday, April 17
WebMD reports a team of South Dakota scientists has invented a new super-paint strong enough to kill superbugs that infect hospital patients and kill thousands of people annually. The paint, which is designed to decorate and disinfect homes, businesses, and health care settings, kills disease-causing bacteria, mold, fungi, and viruses, according to research published in the American Chemical Society’s journal, Applied Materials & Interfaces. I nearly have a seizure just thinking about how toxic that paint must be!
The Washington Post reports the EPA will mandate tests on 67 pesticide chemicals, with the goal of gauging risk of endocrine disruptors to humans and animals. My understanding is that the science is already there showing without a shadow of a doubt that certain pesticides are indeed endocrine disruptors and should be pulled off the market. Let’s hope the chemical industry doesn’t continue to weaken and prolong the review process to the point of ineffectiveness as they’ve successfully done for decades.
The Washington Post reports the new EEOC headquarters in DC is contaminated with formaldehyde and making the office workers really sick. Hey, maybe they should make all former FEMA management go work at EEOC just to see how it feels after their wonderful handling of the Katrina mobile trailers.
PoynterOnline reports EPA warns about spot-on flea prevention meds for pets but FAILS to tell people to stop using it.
Fosters.com reports new research conducted at the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center indicates pavement sealcoat may contribute to increasingly significant amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons entering waterways from storm-water runoff.
Thanks, Bobby, for contributing to this report!
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Editor perpetuates myth about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Posted on Apr 06, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins
Says professional editor Jon Vara: “I believe that there’s a substantial body of evidence suggesting that multiple chemical sensitivity DOES exist but that it’s a psychosomatic problem, not a physiological one.”
Let’s get the facts straight right off the bat: There is NOT a substantial body of evidence suggesting Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is psychosomatic. In fact, quite the opposite is true: A substantial body of peer-reviewed studies show MCS is real and the result of toxic chemicals harming people physiologically and neurologically.
The discussion starts here:
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Monsanto, nanoparticles, and greenwashing
Posted on Apr 03, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
Canary’s Cry for Friday, April 3
Monsanto wants to play with us on the interwebs. The darling kids at Monsanto’s public relations department have started a cute little blog, where they write about their adorable co-workers and how they are all just like us. Oh, and also about how green Monsanto is.
Related: WebEcoist reports on the world’s 10 worst greenwashers. Oh look, there’s Monsanto:
Monsanto, the world’s largest seed and pesticide company, is working to convince us that they are supporters of sustainable agriculture – all while monopolizing and homogenizing the world’s food supply. Hardly sustainable. Monsanto, the maker of toxic pesticide RoundUp, has a long history of producing genetically modified seeds, including ‘terminator’ seeds that cannot reproduce on their own, forcing farmers to go back to Monsanto again and again for more seeds. They’re also the creators of rGBH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), which is given to cows to increase production and often ends up in our water supply.
Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database reports on What Not To Buy when shopping for cosmetics:
Major gaps in public health laws allow cosmetics companies to use almost any ingredient they choose in everything from sunscreen and mascara to deodorant and baby shampoo, with no restrictions and no requirement for safety testing. To help you navigate your store’s aisles, Environmental Working Group researchers have scoured thousands of ingredient labels to bring you our top recommendations for what not to buy — products with worrisome or downright dangerous ingredients that don’t belong in your shopping cart or on your skin. Read more about why this matters.
Environmental Health News reports nanoparticles in sunscreens, cosmetics and other consumer products may pose risks to the environment by damaging beneficial microbes.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports on the latest information on toxic chemical releases. Releases are down overall, but mercury and PCBs are up.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports on contaminants in children’s bath and personal care products.
Green Directory Montana reports on non-organic panic.
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Asthma, chemical makers, and coal ash
Posted on Mar 02, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
Canary’s Cry for Monday, March 2
The John Hopkins News-Letter reports air particles raise risk of childhood asthma. Particulate matter can include dust, car exhaust, chemicals released while cooking and cleaning, smoke, pollen and fungal spores, among others.
MSNBC reports chemical makers stand to get a boost as an indirect recipient of the billions in government money promised in the stimulus package signed by President Obama last week. Of the $787 billion in the stimulus bill, at least one-tenth is allocated to projects that could benefit chemical makers.
Times Free Press reports a third of the people living near the toxic coal ash spill from a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant are reporting respiratory problems and about half have experienced increased stress and anxiety, according to a Tennessee Department of Health survey. Environmental groups say the accident was proof of the danger of lax regulation of coal ash storage.
The Courier Express reports on a veteran and his familiy forced out of their home due to toxic mold.
Oregon Environmental News reports there are 175 toxic chemicals worth tracking in Oregon waterways.
Photo by mag3737
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CNN’s Campbell Brown flees apartment contaminated with toxic mold
Posted on Feb 27, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Home & Garden
Spotting something on the wall of her apartment that looked odd, Campbell Brown was convinced it was mold and that her son was showing symptoms of exposure.
The Daily News reports CNN’s Campbell Brown and her family were forced to leave their apartment when she discovered toxic mold was the reason her baby “developed a cold that wouldn’t end.”
Just before the inauguration, and after months of struggling with her baby’s unexplained illness, Campbell, her child and her husband, Dan Senor, were forced to flee their mold-ridden apartment without their belongings.
“When something like this happens,” Brown told the Daily News, “you become an expert in toxic mold. But I certainly realized how fortunate that I am, in this economic climate, that we had the ability to get out. When they said, ‘You need to get your baby and get out now,’ we were able to get out.”
Link to full report at The Daily News.
Thanks, Linda!
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Canary’s Cry for January 30
Posted on Jan 30, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
The Environmental News Service reports the Canadian government declared chemicals used in cosmetics to be toxic.
HealthZone reports that toxic air raises risk of death.
The Los Angeles Times reports pool workers poured large amounts of chlorine and acid down a rooftop drain causing a gas cloud in a nearby Metro station. Officials initially suspected terrorism.
The State Journal Register in Illinois reports tenants of 10 apartments in the Macoupin County Housing Authority complex have signed a petition complaining of mold problems.
Globe and Mail reports food may not be sole BPA source.
Science Direct reports on a study about the association between prenatal exposure to phthalates and the health of newborns.
Environmental Health News reports plasticizer is related to lower hormone levels in men and that phthalates worsen skin allergies in newborn mice exposed through their mothers.
Photo by Auntie P
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Canary’s Cry for Saturday, January 10
Posted on Jan 10, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
The Soil Science Society of America reports on an Oregon study showing Low Level Herbicide Use Can Damage Potato Reproduction. Field trials were conducted to determine if potato vegetative growth and tuber yield and quality were affected by herbicides at below recommended field rates. In the study, potato plants were exposed to one of seven different herbicides at various concentrations below normal field application rates. The trials demonstrated that potato tuber yield and quality can be affected by herbicide application rates those causing a reduction in vegetative growth or injury.
Scientific American reports on New Study: Autism Linked to Environment. California’s sevenfold increase in autism is most likely is due to environmental exposures, University of California scientists reported Thursday. The scientists who authored the new study advocate a nationwide shift in autism research to focus on potential factors in the environment that babies and fetuses are exposed to, including pesticides, viruses and chemicals in household products.
The Wisconsin State Journal says Outdoor Wood Boilers under Fire. The problem is a home furnace called an outdoor wood boiler. The furnaces are designed to burn wood, wood pellets or corn in an outdoor shed, heating water that is piped into the house. Unlike a wood stove or a campfire, however, wood boilers give off copious amounts of smoke. And that is prompting the Madison City Council to consider regulating the furnaces.
The Modesto Bee reports the Home Depot in Ceres Emptied as Pool Chemicals Burn. The store was evacuated Friday morning after a fire broke out and damaged pool chemical containers that released toxic fumes into the air, fire officials said. Flames damaged the chemical containers, which included chlorine and other pool cleaning supplies. Customers and employees were evacuated, and one employee who wasn’t feeling well was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.
Photo by Scott Bauer at USDA.
Thanks, Linda, for potato and autism stories!
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Canary’s Cry for Saturday, Dec. 27
Posted on Dec 27, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
A new Cal State Long Beach study finds high levels of DDT and PCB in seals and sea lions that died between 1994 and 2006, suggesting possible danger for humans.
The Los Angeles Times reports Old Chemicals Found Years Later in Marine Mammals. The new study found DDT, a once widely used agricultural pesticide now banned in the United States, in slightly lower concentrations in sea lions than was found in studies of marine mammals conducted in the early 1970s, according to the report published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. Adult male sea lions and seals had the highest concentrations because they had the highest fat content. But the chemicals were also present in pups, who absorbed them from their mothers’ milk.
The Philadelphis Inquirer reports that fumes from a chemical used to deice planes got into the passenger cabin of an Alaska Airlines jet yesterday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, irritating the eyes of people on board, officials said. Paramedics treated 26 people, and seven, including all five crew members, decided to go to a hospital, an airline spokeswoman said.
Chicago News reports that a South Side meat-packing plant containing hazardous chemicals burned for approximately three hours on Christmas Day before more than 160 firefighters extinguished the blaze.
The Ithaca Journal reports on more protest against the decision by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to allow retailers to sell toys in inventory that may contain a potentially harmful chemical. Continued sale of toys with phthalates – a class of chemical compound used as a softener for plastics that seeps out of toys when chewed – is possible because of a safety commission ruling that Congress’ Consumer Product Safety Act pertains only to newly manufactured or imported toys containing phthalates. In a press release, [Assemblywoman Barbara] Lifton said animal toxicity data shows that phthalates could be harmful to infants or children. Toys that are already in stock can still be sold because of pressure applied from toy and chemical companies such as ExxonMobil, she said. The Consumer Product Safety Act became law in August.
Photo by Tom Clifton
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Canary’s Cry for Monday, Dec. 8
Posted on Dec 08, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
USA Today has put out an in-depth Special Report on Toxic Air and America’s Schools.
USA Today used an EPA model to track the path of industrial pollution and mapped the locations of almost 128,000 schools to determine the level of toxic chemicals outside. The potential problems that emerged were widespread, insidious and largely unaddressed.
Click here for USA Today Video by Garrett Hubbard, Steve Elfers, Denny Gainer, and Rhyne Piggott: USA TODAY examines the impact of industrial pollution outside the nation’s schools and explores how toxic chemicals shuttered one elementary school in Addyston, Ohio, three years ago. This video is Part One. Part Two is due out shortly. Click here for USA Today full report and supporting stories.
In other news, The New York Times reports that “A Problem Rises to the Surface in Greenpoint.” Residents of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, have toxic gases “rising into their homes from below, the legacy of dry-cleaning plants, foundries and other manufacturers that once operated in this hub, which has long been home to immigrants and, more recently, artists and young professionals. Such vapor intrusion — chemicals from contaminated soil and groundwater that become airborne, entering buildings through pores and cracks — has become a growing public health concern around the country in recent years. Contaminants that spread from industrial activity, or that were mistakenly believed to have been contained or eliminated in environmental cleanups, have been discovered wafting into basements.”
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Canary’s Cry for Wednesday, Dec. 3
Posted on Dec 03, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
CNNMoney.com reports that one in three toys tested is toxic with chemicals such as lead, flame retardants and arsenic, according to a report issued Wednesday by an environmental group. Researchers for the Michigan-based Ecology Center tested more than 1,500 popular toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals. They said they found that one-third of the toys contain “medium” or “high” levels of chemicals of concern. “Our hope is that by empowering consumers with this information, manufacturers and lawmakers will feel the pressure to start phasing out the most harmful substances immediately, and to change the nation’s laws to protect children from highly toxic chemicals,” said Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart, who led the research.
Related: From U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, which stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public and their health and well-being:
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Canary’s Cry for Sunday Nov. 23
Posted on Nov 23, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
The Chicago Tribune says artificial Christmas trees contain toxic chemicals:
CONS:
Gigantic carbon footprint. Artificial trees are usually made from petroleum and shipped from China; the pole and branches are primarily made of steel while the needles are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl, or polyethylene (PE).
PVC is not biodegradable and can’t be recycled; if incinerated, the PVC in the trees emits dioxins and other carcinogens. The manufacture of PVC also creates dioxins.
Phthalates are used to manufacture PVC plastic. Phthalates are a chemical that have been shown to have hormone-like effects. Congress recently passed a bill banning phthalates in children’s toys.
No natural scent. Some people solve this by using aerosol sprays or pine-scented air fresheners, but the fumes from most products contain dozens of chemicals, including several classified as toxic or hazardous, according to a University of Washington study.
ScienceDaily reports that “Low concentrations of pesticides can become toxic mixture for amphibians.” A study shows ten of the world’s most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe, according to University of Pittsburgh research. Such “cocktails of contaminants” are frequently detected in nature, the paper notes, and the Pitt findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely affect the environment. Study author Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides that are widely used throughout the world. Relyea selected five insecticides-carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, and malathion-and five herbicides-acetochlor, atrazine, glyphosate, metolachlor, and 2,4-D. He administered the following doses: each of the pesticides alone, the insecticides combined, a mix of the five herbicides, or all 10 of the poisons. Relyea found that a mixture of all 10 chemicals killed 99 percent of leopard frog tadpoles as did the insecticide-only mixture.
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Canary’s Cry for Thursday Nov. 20
Posted on Nov 20, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, News
Mail Online reports “Boy, 12, collapsed and died after using too much Lynx deoderant.” The boy collapsed after using “copious” amounts of deodorant in a cramped bathroom, an inquest heard. Daniel Hurley was overcome by solvents in the Lynx Vice spray and his heart began to beat irregularly, the hearing was told. His father Robert found him collapsed in the bath at the family home after spraying on too much of the deodorant. [Canary Note: Lynx is the same as Axe, the name is different in a few countries due to copyright. Axe deliberately markets to young boys, with imagery selling the scent as a chick magnet. Many high schools have banned the scent because it makes students sick in class.]
The Salt Lake Tribune says “Utah unveils new policies on keeping school kids indoor during recess.” With wintertime pollution starting to blanket the valley, the state is publicizing year-old guidelines for when children should stay indoors during recess. The changes, made last January by the Utah Department of Health and Utah Department of Environmental Quality but only publicized now, are both more conservative and more liberal. They will keep sensitive children, like those with asthma, indoors at lower levels of pollution than in the past. But they allow healthy children to play outside when pollution levels are much higher.
The Salt Lake Tribune also reports that “An environmental report on the burn pit at Balad Air Base in Iraq now is ‘classified’ as national security.”
Military officials insist there’s no problem.
But veterans’ advocates are calling for full transparency about the health risks faced by service members who have been stationed at the largest U.S. air base in Iraq, where one inspector called an open-air burn pit “the worst environmental site I have ever personally visited.”
But for the moment, that quote — found in a memo from a military environmental engineer from Utah — is all that is publicly known from a 2006 Environmental Health Site Assessment on the situation at Balad Air Base. That’s because the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine is refusing to make the document public, saying that the information it contains “would damage our national security.”
How could a health assessment damage national security? For veteran Paul Rieckhoff, the situation smells as bad as Iraq’s foul air.
WOAI.com has a story about “Mold and shoddy work keep Mirasol homeowner away.” A mother of three says she had to leave her home because of mold and shoddy work. Then she was forced to move her family from the hotel the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) put them up in. Now, she finds out her home she’s still paying for is still not fixed. And some furniture in a storage unit is ruined. The family had lived in the home for years before they had to get out. Now they want the money they invested to buy the home back and to replace their ruined belongings.
Thank you, Linda, for Lynx story.
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Welcome to The Canary Report!
The Canary Report is a blog and social network about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
We compassionately bring you unfiltered and uncensored news and information you can trust directly from the source: people who have MCS. Dedicated to sharing, supporting, and inspiring with the Aloha Spirit, The Canary Report gives all canaries a voice. Come join us!
Aloha,
Susie Collins
Founder and Contributing Editor
Hilo, Hawaii
Let’s Connect on the Social Web
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